Nail Art How-To: Tortoise Shell Tips

Because this look is cool as (s)hell.

By
Carly Cardellino

Mar 03, 2014

Elizabeth Griffin

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You're obsessed with your tortoise shell sunglasses, so why not try this tortoise shell design on your digits? Nail artist Simcha Whitehill aka Miss Pop shows you how to recreate this look in just four easy steps.

Elizabeth Griffin

1. Prep. File nails into desired shape, then push back cuticles — DO NOT CUT THEM! — and apply one coat of a non-quick dry topcoat. From this point on you'll want to complete the entire look on one nail at a time, and you'll have to work fast so that you can get all of the colors down while the topcoat (which usually takes longer to dry compared to a basecoat) is wet. This will help sheer out each polish, so that the other colors you apply will pop through, giving you that tortoise shell effect.

2. Paint on some yellow lacquer. Using the brush that comes with the bottle, apply a few strokes of a shimmery, sheer yellow polish over your nail. India used Ciate Fairground in "Loop the Loop" here.

3. Add on a few strokes of a caramel-colored polish. Do this while the yellow hue from step two is still wet. India used HippxRGB in "F3."